This application relates to the means of keeping a person, advantageously an infant, warm by securing a blanket-like member to the person's clothing, for example, sleepwear such as night shirts, pajamas or the like. In particular, this invention keeps the blanket-like member secure and in one place relative to the person while the person sleeps.
A general problem for sleeping persons, particularly infants and young children, is that a blanket covering the sleeping person often will either be pulled over their head or alternatively pushed aside by bodily movements during sleep. In the instance where a blanket is pulled over the head, the sleeping person risks suffocation. Thus, one object of this invention is to avoid possible suffocation. In the instance where a blanket is pushed aside during sleep, the person can be exposed to cold air, causing discomfort and susceptibility to illness. Another object of the invention therefore is to keep a blanket covering the person at night so they do not become cold.
In light of the problems associated with conventional sleepwear and blankets, many patents of the prior art show there is a desire to address the problems by fastening coverings such as blankets or quilts to the person, either as an integral part of their clothing or by attaching a covering to the clothing by a fastening means. The following patents are illustrative of these attempts:
Li, U.S. Pat. No. 5,416,938, issued May 23, 1995, discloses a fastener for preventing quilts from being kicked off. The fastener includes a wrapping sheet and a quilt which have corresponding hook-and-loop type fasteners for wrapping a child's body and firmly securing the quilt over the child.
Bell, U.S. Pat. No. 2,355,138, issued Aug, 8, 1944, discloses a combination sleeping garment for infants, comprising a blanket and a jacket, which covers the arms and torso of the infant. The blanket has a means of being attached to a crib. The jacket may be attached to the blanket by a fastening means, for instance a zipper, thereby securing the infant under the blanket in a position where the infant's torso is fixed relative to the blanket. The infant may be placed in the jacket to allow either a face up or face down sleeping position when the jacket is fastened to the blanket.
Evans, U.S. Pat. No. 3,521,309, issued Jul. 21, 1970, discloses a restraining sheet particularly adapted for use in cribs to maintain the desired sheet and blanket coverage over an infant. The restraining sheet is a combined pocket-containing crib sheet and blanket in which the crib sheet is placed over a mattress and preferably held in place by straps that are tied together. The blanket is attached to the pocket by a fastening means and thereby maintained in the desired position with respect to the pocket. The infant is placed in the pocket of the crib sheet for sleeping.
Rogers, U.S. Pat. No. 2,439,101, issued Apr. 6, 1948, discloses a safety gown for bed patients and is particularly designed for infants to keep them covered and in a particular area of a bed, carriage or the like. The safety gown comprises a body portion including sleeves, where the body portion extends substantially to the waist of the infant. The remaining portion of the gown constitutes a sheet-like element which forms a long apron or blanket that covers the infant below the waist and which can be tucked in under a mattress or otherwise secured to maintain the infant in a predetermined area of the bed or carriage.
Taylor, U.S. Pat. No. 2,888,009, issued May 26, 1959, discloses an infant's sleeping bag which has ties at the four comers of the bag for attaching the garment to portions of the crib, bed, or the like upon which it is placed. The bag has an opening consisting of a neck opening and a slit, such that the slit can be closed by a fastening means, for instance a zipper. The infant's head is therefore held in position outside of the bag at the neck opening, while the remainder of the infant's body is held in the bag and covered from the neck down.
Hubner, U.S. Pat. No. 3,845,513, issued Nov. 5, 1974, discloses a sleeping bag in which a sleeping blanket is attached, in the area of the back, to a bedlinen sheet which can be stretched and fittedly attached to a crib mattress. The blanket contains a bodice-like upper portion with a zipper opening and a bag-like lower portion. A baby is placed in the bag either face up or face down, and the bag restrains the baby from standing up or removing the clothes.
Hummel, U.S. Pat. No. 3,872,524, issued Mar. 25, 1975, discloses a baby cover that comprises a jacket-shaped section that is continuous with a rectangular section, whereby the rectangular section is held on a mattress by fasteners at the corners and adapted to be attached to a crib by straps so as to prevent movement of the cover. A slit extends from the bottom of the jacket neck hole into a portion of the rectangular section, and is closed with a zipper, so that a baby is covered from the waist up in the jacket section of the cover, with the baby's lower body covered and held under the rectangular portion of the cover.
Jeffries, U.S. Pat. No. 4,688,282, issued Aug. 25, 1987, discloses bedding for children that comprises a generally rectangular blanket that has several fasteners on it. The blanket is can be wrapped around a child's torso, lower body and legs and held in place with fasteners on the side and bottom edges of the blanket. A pair of straps is located on the top edge of the blanket and to fit over the child's shoulders, and centrally located fastener is adapted to secure the blanket between the child's legs to prevent the blanket from being upwardly displaced.
Washington, U.S. Pat. No. 5,933,886, issued Aug. 10, 1999, discloses a blanket for snugly engaging the body of a baby. The blanket includes a bottom portion having a head end, a leg end, a torso section lying between the ends, and a pair of arms extending from opposite sides of the torso section. A top section covers the leg end and the torso section of the bottom portion, and is held in place by the arms of the bottom section, which extend through slots in the top section. The arms fasten together to secure the top and bottom portions of the blanket around a baby.
These attempts to provide a means of securing a covering to a sleeping person suffer from several limitations that make them either impractical or undesirable to use. These limitations include fasteners that are awkward to use, covers that can only be used when fitted to a mattress or other sleeping surface, covers that restrict a sleeping position to either face up or face down, and covers that restrain or restrict a person's bodily movement so that the cover is uncomfortable as well as potentially unsafe to the person. Thus there remains a need in the art for a means of securing a blanket to a person's clothing that is both safe and easy to use.